The ringgit opened lower against the US dollar in early trade today on renewed concerns over the instability of China's and regional economies, a dealer said.

At 9am, the ringgit eased to 4.4600/4690 against the greenback from 4.4160/4240 at 5pm yesterday.

The local note hit a 17-year low yesterday as foreign investors continued to offload ringgit assets.

The ringgit was traded lower against a basket of major currencies.

It fell against the Singapore dollar to 3.1130/1204 from 3.0916/0976 yesterday. It was traded lower against the yen at 3.7269/7360 from 3.6711/6793 yesterday.

The local note eased against the euro to 5.0157/0263 from 4.9371/9469 yesterday and was easier against the pound sterling to 6.7627/7768 from 6.7238/7382 previously.

- Bernama